...without parties at all, then you could actually vote for a candidate on the basis of nothing else whatsoever than that you like his or her ideas, policies, and character better than some other candidates....

I think you're being a bit too idealistic there, Little Hawk. The two-party system may be corrupt, but a party-free system in today's society would result in a true oligarchy. People are not going to vote for the candidate with the best ideas. They're going to vote for the one who spends the most money. Currently, that means the one who can raise the most money through his party's fund-raising structure. Do away with that structure and it becomes the one with the most money of his own to throw into a campaign. If you think political power is bought and sold under the two-party system, do away with it and you'll have nothing but the ultra-wealthy who can afford to fund their own campaigns running for office. If you think it would open the door for genuine progressives like Ralph Nader, forget it. It would only open the door even wider for people like Ross Perot, Steve Forbes, and Mitt Romney.